Quine's naturalistic epistemology

Moderna epistemologija je disciplina koju nam je u nasleđe ostavio veliki francuski filozof Rene Dekart, i uobičajeno se smatra da je u pitanju tipično filozofska disciplina čijim se problemima, prema tome, isključivo možemo baviti i filozofskim (spekulativnim) istraživačkim sredstvima. U novije vreme međutim, javila se ideja za naturalizacijom epistemoloških istraživanja koja podrazumeva da bi umesto filozofskim, problemima znanja bilo moguće pristupiti objektivnim istraživačkim tehnikama koje karakterišu metodologiju prirodnih nauka. Ovo je stanovište koje je između ostalog zastupao i američki filozof Vilard Van Orman Kvajn, čiji će predlog za reformom epistemoloških istraživanja, odnosno, za njihovom naturalizacijom biti predmet ovog rada. Međutim, taj predlog će, kao što ćemo videti, ostaviti prostor za bitno različite interpretacije na kojim bi prepostavkama pomenutu reformu trebalo sprovesti. Naime, u savremenoj literaturi preovlađuju tri tipa tumačenja Kvajnovog apela za reformom epistemoloških istraživanja: bihejvioristički, koji je u većoj meri zastupao Kvajn, ali i koherentistički i fizikalistički za koje će se zalagati neki od njegovih interpretatora. Međutim, dok su prve dve od ovih opcija po našem mišljenju neprihvatljive jer nisu u stanju da obezbede neophodnu autonomnost epistemološkom istraživačkom kontekstu, iako drugačijim, pokušaćemo da pokažemo kako je i fizikalizam opterećen teškoćama koje ga čine neodrživom pozicijom kada je reč o epistemološkim istraživanjima. Uprkos tome, smatramo da u Kvajnovom predlogu ima vrednih uvida, kao i da se iz neuspeha dosadašnjih tumačenja mogu izvući važne pouke kako po pitanju pozicije koju bi u njegovoj interpretaciji trebalo zauzeti, tako i – što je u bliskoj vezi s ovim – mogućnosti reforme epistemoloških istraživanja uopšte. Drugim rečima, poučeni slabostima Kvajnovog predloga i njegovih interpretacija, zastupaćemo tezu da je epistemološkim istraživanjima u krajnjoj instanci moguće pristupiti sa jedne od dve međusobno inkompatibilne teorijske pozicije: tradicionalne ili kartezijanske, i kantijanske. S tim u vezi, razmatraćemo mogućnost uspostavljanja tog fundamentalnog nivoa istraživanja kakav je epistemološki na koji je Kvajn morao da pretenduje, ali povezujući ga sa gledištima koja bi trebalo da nam omoguće njegovu sintezu sa Kantovim pristupom kao po našem mišljenju, jedinom pravom alternativom tradicionalnom programu. Iako će podrazumevati usvajanje svojevrsne kompromisne pozicije koju ne bismo mogli da pripišemo Kvajnu, i zbog čega je neizvesno da bi to bila interpretacija koju bi on podržao, osim što bi sačuvala određene naturalističke elemente, takođe verujemo i da bi to bila interpretacija koja bi konačno ispunila većinu zahteva koje je pred epistemološka istraživanja sam Kvajn postavioModern epistemology is a discipline that we inherited from the great French philosopher René Descartes, and it is usually considered to be a typically philosophical discipline, whose problems could therefore be addressed only by philosophical (speculative) methods of enquiry. Recently, however, an idea of the naturalisation of epistemological enquiry has emerged, which implies that problems of knowledge could be addressed not by philosophical methods, but by objective techniques of enquiry that characterise the metodology of natural sciences. This is a viewpoint held by the american philosopher Willard Van Orman Quine, whose proposal for the reform of epistemological enquiry, that is, for the naturalisation, will be the topic of this work. However, this proposal, as we shall see, makes room for fundamentally different interpretations on which the above reform should be based. Namely, in contemporary literature there are three prevailing types of interpretation of Quine's appeal for the reform of epistemological enquiry: behaviouristic, advocated mostly by Quine, but also coherentistic and physicalistic, that some of his interpreters advocate. However, while the first two options are, in my opinion, unacceptable because they are unable to provide the necessary autonomy for the epistemological context of enquiry, I will try to show that physicalism is also burdened with difficulties that, although different, make it an unsustainable position when it comes to epistemological enquiry. Nevertheless, I argue that there are certain valuable insights in Quine's proposal, and that we can draw important lessons from the failures of previous interpretations as regards the position that should be taken in the interpretation, as well as – which is closely related – the possibility of the reform of epistemological enquiry in general. In other words, having learned from the weaknesess of Quine's proposal and his interpretations, I will argue that the epistemological questions could ultimately be approached only from one of the two mutually incompatible theoretical positions: traditional or Cartesian, and Kantian. Accordingly, I will examine the possibility of establishing this fundamental domain of enquiry such as epistemological that Quine had to commit himself to, but connecting it with the views that should enable its synthesis with Kant's approach as, in my opinion, the only real alternative to the traditional programme. Although this will imply the adoption of a kind of intermediate position that could not be attributed to Quine, which makes it uncertain that this would be the interpretation he would support, apart from preserving certain naturalistic elements, I also believe that this interpretation would in the end fulfil most requirements that Quine has set for epistemological enquiry

Crystal and absolute structure of the aquadichloro(pyridoxal thiosemicarbazone) iron(III) chloride

A new Fe(III) complex of pyridoxal thiosemicarbazone (H2L) has been characterized by single-crystal X-ray analysis. The Fe atom in the title complex, [Fe(H2L)Cl2(H2O)]Cl, has a distorted octahedral configuration formed by NSO2Cl2 donor set. Six-membered chelate ring significantly deviates from planar form. The crystal structure is stabilized by weak intermolecular C-H…π interaction directed towards the center of the pyridine ring.Physical chemistry 2004 : 7th international conference on fundamental and applied aspects of physical chemistry; Belgrade (Serbia); 21-23 September 200

Metastability – Markovian approach

A complete system of events of nonlinear processes in complex dynamical systems describes the evolution of the distribution. Different stages of evolution of the distribution declared stable, metastable and unstable systems. Variance of probabilistic distribution plays a crucial role in determining the state of the system. It was found that the system is metastable, when it carried Markovian processes in continuous time. Metastability is the original metallurgical phenomenon and actively exists in the structure of the materials. In a metastable state, the structural distances in material are exponentially distributed

Composite profile of the Fe Kα\alpha spectral line emitted from a binary system of supermassive black holes

We used a model of a relativistic accretion disk around a supermassive black hole (SMBH), based on ray-tracing method in the Kerr metric, to study the variations of the composite Fe K$\alpha$ line emitted from two accretion disks around SMBHs in a binary system. We assumed that the orbit of such a binary is approximately Keplerian, and simulated the composite line shapes for different orbital elements, accretion disk parameters and mass ratios of the components. The obtained results show that, if observed in the spectra of some SMBH binaries during their different orbital phases, such composite Fe K$\alpha$ line profiles could be used to constrain the orbits and several properties of such SMBH binaries.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in special issue of Advances in Space Research on "Spectral Line Shapes in Astrophysics and Related Phenomena

Comparative thermal buckling analysis of functionally graded plate

A thermal buckling analysis of functionally graded thick rectangular plates according to von Karman non-linear theory is presented. The material properties of the functionally graded plate, except for the Poisson's ratio, were assumed to be graded in the thickness direction, according to a power-law distribution, in terms of the volume fractions of the metal and ceramic constituents. Formulations of equilibrium and stability equations are derived using the high order shear deformation theory based on different types of shape functions. Analytical method for determination of the critical buckling temperature for uniform increase of temperature, linear and non-linear change of temperature across thickness of a plate is developed. Numerical results were obtained in MATLAB software using combinations of symbolic and numeric values. The paper presents comparative results of critical buckling temperature for different types of shape functions. The accuracy of the formulation presented is verified by comparing to results available from the literature

Uticaj kvasaca, probiotika i enzima u obrocima na proizvodnost visokomlečnih krava u tranzicionom periodu

The main goal of this paper was to investigate the influence of some additives included into high yielding dairy cows rations to overcome the problems in early lactation. These substances directly affect the productive performances of dairy cows as well as udder health. The commercial name of investigated preparation is 'YEASTURE' and it is composed of live yeast cultures selected from three strains Saccharomyces cerevisisiae in combination with probiotic bacteria and enzymes (Lactobacillus casei, Streptococcus faecium, Aspergillus oryzae, Lactobacillus acidophilus, 1,3-b and 1,6 D-Glucan, hemicellulase, Protease, Cellulase, Alpha amylase) which have the ability to modify the fermentation in rumen stimulating the development of ruminal bacteria and increasing the fibre digestion. Effects of this preparation have been investigated on 60 Holstein-Friesian cows divided into two groups. The diets were identical, and trial group received also 10 g of preparation Yeasture daily. Application of Yeasture started 15 days prior to calving and lasted until 60th day of lactation As a research result improved in vitro disappearance of diet dry matter from roughage (alfalfa hay, maize silage and ensiled sugar beet pulp) was established. Preparation Yeasture influenced quantity and composition of the milk. The difference between trial and control group was 2.57 kg 4%FCM or 8.70% (P (lt) 0.01) and 7.16% milk fat (P (lt) 0.05).Trial group supplemented with Yeasture showed lower somatic cells count by 7.3 percent points what indicated better health of cow's udder. Based on the presented results it can be concluded that inclusion of preparation Yeasture into diets for dairy cows in transition period can be recommended.Period zasušenja i rana laktacija karakterišu se brojnim problemima koji mogu da se uspešno premoste uključivanjem dodataka u hranu kao što su probiotici, kvasci, enzimi i dr. U radu su ispitani efekti preparata yeasture koji predstavlja kompoziciju ovih dodataka a koji je uključen u obroke krava dve nedelje pre i osam nedelja posle telenja u količini od 10 g po grlu dnevno. Uključivanje pomenutih dodataka uticalo je na poboljšanje svarljivosti suve materije kabastih hraniva (sena lucerke, silaže cele biljke kukuruza i siliranog rezanca šećerne repe) što je konačno značajno uticalo na poboljšanje proizvodnih performansi odnosno povećanje količine mleka za 10.86%. Jednovremeno pomenuti dodaci povoljno su uticali na popravljanje zdravstvenog stanja vimena krava što se odrazilo na smanjenje broja somatskih ćelija za 7.3 procentnih poena. Najvažniji parametri krvi pre i posle eksperimenta kretali su se u fiziološki optimalnim granicama. Navedeni argumenti su dovoljan razlog da se uključivanje pomenutih supstansi u obroke visokomlečnih krava u periodu zasušenja i rane laktacije preporuči u proizvodnji mleka

Magnetothermal instabilities in magnetized anisotropic plasmas

Using the transport equations for an ideal anisotropic collisionless plasma derived from the Vlasov equation by the 16-moment method, we analyse the influence of pressure anisotropy exhibited by collisionless magnetized plasmas on the magnetothermal (MTI) and heat-flux-driven buoyancy (HBI) instabilities. We calculate the dispersion relation and the growth rates for these instabilities in the presence of a background heat flux and for configurations with static pressure anisotropy, finding that when the frequency at which heat conduction acts is much larger than any other frequency in the system (i.e. weak magnetic field) the pressure anisotropy has no effect on the MTI/HBI, provided the degree of anisotropy is small. In contrast, when this ordering of timescales does not apply the instability criteria depend on pressure anisotropy. Specifically, the growth time of the instabilities in the anisotropic case can be almost one order of magnitude smaller than its isotropic counterpart. We conclude that in plasmas where pressure anisotropy is present the MTI/HBI are modified. However, in environments with low magnetic fields and small anisotropy such as the ICM the results obtained from the 16-moment equations under the approximations considered are similar to those obtained from ideal MHD.Comment: v3: 16 pages, 2 figures, fixed typos, added references and a final note on related wor

The significance of Goodpasture antigen in hereditary nephritis

INTRODUCTION: Two types of hereditary nephritis, nonprogressive and progressive, clinically present as asymptomatic haematuria, sometimes combined with proteinuria. At the onset, in both types, light microscopic changes are minimal, immunofluorescence findings are negative, and diagnosis can be made only upon electron microscopic findings that are considered to be specific. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the significance of Goodpasture antigen detection in diagnosis of progressive and nonprogressive hereditary nephritis in its early phase. METHOD: Analysis of renal biopsy specimens was done in patients with hereditary nephritis that were followed from 1990 to 2005. Progression of renal disease was examined in 14 patients with Alport's syndrome, 10 patients with thin basement membrane disease, and 6 patients with unclassified hereditary nephritis diagnosed. For all these cases, indirect immunofluorescence study with serum from a patient with high titer of Goodpasture autoantibodies that recognize the antigenic determinants in human glomerular and tubular basement membrane was performed. RESULTS: In 11 out of 14 cases diagnosed as Alport's syndrome, there was negative staining with Goodpasture serum, and in 3 additional cases with Alport's syndrome, expression of Goodpasture antigen in glomerular basement membrane and thin basement membrane was highly reduced. In all 10 patients with thin basement membrane disease, immunofluorescence showed intensive, bright linear staining with Goodpasture serum along glomerular and tubular basement membrane. In 2 out of 6 patients with unclassified hereditary nephritis, Goodpasture antigen expression was very strong, in one patient it was very reduced, and in 3 patients it was negative. CONCLUSION: The results of our study show that Goodpasture antigen detection plays a very important role in differential diagnosis of progressive and nonpregressive hereditary nephritis, particularly in early phases of the disease

A SOFTWARE SOLUTION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF REUSABLE LEARNING CONTENT

The purpose of this paper is to present an approach for creating reusable learning content. Our approach is based on the usage of a software solution we have developed in order to enable creation of reusable and portable learning content. This Windows desktop solution, named ScormCreator, provides users with ability to create learning content according to SCORM reference model because of its ability to provide the transfer of learning content from one system to another, storing, sharing and reuse of the learning content